How Does Congenital Heart Disease Affect A Baby

You have been waiting for this day to come. You are in the room to have another ultrasound of your new baby that is forming inside of you. You are around twenty days after conception which means that you are finally going to have the potential to hear your baby’s heart beat. Between twenty-two and twenty-eight days after conception a baby’s heart is able to be heard ( Congenital Heart Defects: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment ). There are serious diseases that can develop early in pregnancy. One of these very life-threatening diseases is known as congenital heart disease. There are several diseases all linked to one muscle in the body. Congenital heart diseases can be major or minor factors to a person’s life. The disease can affect a baby as soon as the first ultrasound visit. How could this affect the baby that could be growing inside of you at this very moment? What if your baby has a congenital heart disease? Thump, thump. Thump, thump.
There are several different names for congenital heart diseases.
Other names are known as: congenital heart defects, cyanotic heart disease, heart defects and congenital cardiovascular malformations. Whenever a baby is born, the baby has a 0.8% chance of getting a congenital heart disease. A baby that is born with the disease and has a very slim chance of dying from the disease if it is found early. The heart has an interruption in its normal blood flow circulation. The blood may move in the opposite direction, be blocked, or even go to the completely wrong place. Heart diseases are very serious and need to be watched closely when spotted (Congenital Heart Defects: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment)
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Next, there are some different levels of severity of the congenital heart disease. The simple congenital heart diseases include holes in the heart, narrow arteries, ventricular septal defect, and more. The simple diseases are more likely to be fixed and are more easily found. The more complex forms of this disease are severe. One type of severe congenital heart disease is the tetralogy of fallot. This disease causes the heart to not work properly. The oxygen levels in a baby drop dramatically. The flow of oxygen is cut out throughout the body. Signs are visible in the baby and they are treated immediately (Types of Congenital Heart Defects).
Then, Congenital heart diseases are often caused by genetics, alcohol intake, illegal drug abuse, mutations, birth defects and more. There are not any cures to completely take away this stress in families. Although there are several ways that the defects can occur, it is important to take proper steps to avoid this. A healthy baby is very important in any life. Congenital heart diseases are not one hundred percent preventable, however; to avoid these types of diseases to an extent: avoid alcohol and drug use,the mother should get screened for the defect in her genes as well as the father’s, control blood sugar levels, and maintaining healthy eating habits are all very important (Congenital Heart Disease: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia).
Finally, several signs to watch for in a baby may include: a baby’s skin turning blue due to low oxygen levels, heart murmurs, and poor weight gain, eating, and breathing. These are all very serious signs because each of them can cause serious damage if they are not found and treated early. Watching for these symptoms in babies are very important for their life on earth (Congenital Heart Defects: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment).
All in all, a baby’s health needs to be watched very carefully. It is especially important in the beginning of their lives because they do not have set patterns. If something seems out of the ordinary, it needs to be checked immediately. Watching for the signs and symptoms that the congenital heart diseases may show are very important for any baby’s health. Congenital heart diseases are very tricky but with responsible care, they can be treated properly.